We came back on Saturday from The Fred Astaire Dance Studios' 22nd Tri-Star Championships in Groton, CT. Approximately 200 students competed in both Ballroom (waltz, Viennese waltz, foxtrot and tango) and Rhythm (swing, rumba, cha cha, mambo, salsa, bolero and samba) dances. The dancers were judged from the beginner to the advanced levels. The participants came from all over New England representing the Fred Astaire Dance Studios from Belmont, Boston, Springfield and Worcester, Massachusetts and Canton, Glastonbury, Hamden, Norwalk, South Windsor, Trumbull and West Hartford, Connecticut.

My wife and I competed in 12 different events, four each of Foxtrot, Tango, and Waltz. Foxtrot's not my strong suit (we're best at Tango, we "have the attitude"), but it didn't matter too much because there's very few amateur couples who compete. In the two cases where we were competing against amateur couples, we beat 'em!

This means we placed first place in EVERY competition. While it's nice to receive an award just for showing up, the two heats where we had actual competition (and thus would have potentially been in second place) counted more. The judges were very kind in any case.

This is basically my excuse for why I've fallen behind on my writing. Although I plan to catch up over the next few weeks, it's going to be a struggle. We were training for that competition for a month: two-hour sessions with out instructor as well as an hour a day at home. I'll post pictures from the event once they go live on my Appearances page.